the graduate
third time lucky Tennille Daniel is breaking the stereotype working as an analyst programmer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. She tells us how returning to study at La Trobe for a third time has laid a solid foundation for her career. Photographer: David Field Tennille, what degree did you complete at La Trobe Bendigo? I have studied several different courses at La Trobe Bendigo and on each occasion I have had different reasons. After high school I decided to study Visual Arts at La Trobe Bendigo majoring in Photojournalism and Multimedia. I was the creative type and decided this would be the avenue for me to follow for the simple reason that I enjoyed it and I was good at it. I loved printing in the darkroom creating photographs but I didn’t feel overly confident that I would have a professional career in this endeavour, so I thought it prudent to augment my photographic skills with multimedia. Within this stream of visual arts I focussed on digital design and 3D animation. After completing my undergraduate degree I worked in various creative roles based around IT, but none where I could foresee a stable career path and I found my skills lacking from a technical perspective. This time, with the definitive idea of gaining computing skills and an
identifiable career path, I enrolled at La Trobe Bendigo in the Graduate Diploma in Computing and later the Graduate Certificate in Web Technology. You are now working for the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. What is your role? My role is that of an analyst programmer in the core banking system on the mainframe. It’s not common to have someone of my age and gender working in the mainframe, as it tends to be the domain of older men – no offence to my colleagues. This role, strictly speaking, involves analysis, design, coding, testing, support – during and outside business hours – and implementation of technical changes. But it is not as simple as that. It’s actually quite difficult to describe my role to people outside the technical arena. Let’s say if you use your credit card or anytime you use your banking account the code behind these actions is what I work on. In what ways has your degree and study at university assisted in your current role? I have found that both streams of study at La Trobe have put me in good stead for my
current role. From the outside people might think that Visual Arts is a wasted degree given my current career in IT but I have found the writing, communication, creative and social analysis skills of vital use. Those are the softer skills that made me a wellrounded graduate and they tend to be the ones that IT students neglect or think they don’t need. There is a misconception that good communication skills aren’t required for an IT career, but it is the fundamental basis for any career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the graduate IT qualifications from La Trobe. I describe it as vocational education as it provided me with foundation for what I do today. I walked out of university industry ready and straight into a career at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. What are your interests outside of work? I have been learning French for quite a while now. I am mostly fluent, some days I get it together and hold a grammaticallycorrect conversation and sometimes it all falls apart. We recently bought 20 acres of land at Axe Creek and I have grand plans to revegetate this land with indigenous plants and reintroduce plant diversity amongst the mature eucalypts on the land. I have visions of this becoming like parkland with a stunning vegetable garden of heirloom varieties – I expect this to be a 20-year endeavour. I am also a passionate cook and can think of nothing better than sitting with friends eating good food and drinking good wine. Are you involved in any groups or part of any committees? I have maintained my links with La Trobe University Bendigo and return regularly to be involved with the IT Professional Environment class. I attend with other IT professionals and our role is to provide IT students with an industry perspective. At work I was initially involved with the IT cadetship, previously I have been the Ride to Work co-ordinator on multiple occasions, and many times I have been a mentor to aspiring IT professionals. There is a theme for me: education, environment, and community. What is your best memory from your years of study at La Trobe? The study. I freely admit that I am a nerd and a geek. What can I say? I love to learn. There is some proverb I vaguely remember and it is something along the lines of: knowledge is the lightest treasure you can carry. If you could do your time over what piece of advice would you give your student self? That’s not a simple question but I would say something like: all your choices are part of the greater whole. Your seemingly disparate choices will complete a larger picture. In a nutshell: it will all come together beautifully. ■
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